1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to sterilizers for conducting the heat sterilization of objects and, more particularly, to a sterilizer having a hermetic container for sterilizing objects contained therein.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the related art, as an example of a sterilizer for conducting the heat sterilization of objects, such as food stuffs, a large-sized kettle, which contains food stuffs therein and the door of which is locked from the outside, as shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B, is known.
However, the large-sized kettle used as a conventional sterilizer is problematic in that a temperature difference is generated between areas in the kettle body and in that it takes too long for the temperature in the kettle body to increase to the point capable of sterilizing the food stuffs. Further, when the interior of the kettle body is pressurized to lock the door of the kettle body from the outside after the opening of the kettle body has been closed using the door, a mechanical load may be easily applied to the locked part between the edge of the door and the opening of the kettle body, necessitating an increase in the size of the locking device, thus reducing the operational efficiency of the sterilizer.
Therefore, to seal food stuffs in a sterilizer, a technique, in which small-sized first and second chambers are closely defined in the upper and lower parts of the sterilizer and thus form sealed spaces in the sterilizer, was proposed (Patent Document 1).
According to the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, the kettle body is configured as a small-sized body, so that the temperature variation in the kettle body can be restricted and the time period required to increase the temperature to a desired point can be reduced (Reference Document: Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. Hei. 10-99061).
However, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, the first and second chambers must be compressed and connected to each other from the outside so as to define the sealed spaces in the sterilizer, so that the technique still causes the problem experienced in the large-sized kettles used as the conventional sterilizers.
Further, to define the first and second chambers in the sterilizer, the body of the sterilizer must be configured as a large-sized body. Further, because a large-sized drive part must be provided in the sterilizer, the sterilizer is subjected to wear.